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My So-Called Sex Education

RH Reality Check|August 23, 2013

When it comes to sex education, I can’t really say much since I wasn’t taught anything besides what I learned in biology. My teacher talked about ovaries and sperm, but left out the process of sexual reproduction. There’s only so much a biology class could teach me, and it didn’t tell me about sexual urges, attraction, or needs.

Sex-education programs are rarely mentioned at my high school, so students have to find out about things themselves. To this day, I haven’t taken any sex-education classes in school. I learned most of what I know by asking my parents questions. Asking your parents about sex is probably awkward for most kids, but it wasn’t really for me. I’d rather ask my parents than a teacher or a doctor. The question I asked the most because I didn’t fully understand was, “Why?”

Now, I wonder why teachers don’t want to explain anything to teens. Is it because they’re afraid sex is too serious to talk about? Or maybe they don’t know the answers to our questions either? It’s as if my school doesn’t want students to know why we can’t control some of our actions and urges, like erections and masturbation, or about the birds and the bees. But it’s not like any of these are secrets to keep from high school students.

Maybe adults at my school think we already know what we need to about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and that we should always wear a condom, no matter what. But I really doubt that’s the case since last year three girls at my school became pregnant while having sex with their boyfriends at school.